McKee, Robert B.

Robert B. McKee papers

1861-1901

(bulk dates 1861-1865)

Descriptive Summary

Identification: MSS 416

Creator: McKee, Robert B.

Title: Robert B. McKee papers

Inclusive Dates: 1861-1901

Bulk Dates: 1861-1865

Extent: .1 linear feet (66 items)

Abstract: The Robert B. McKee papers consist of correspondence, military orders, medical supply inventories, casualty reports, and other material related to service as a surgeon in the 1st Delaware Calvary regiment during the Civil War.

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Biographical Note

Robert B. McKee received his medical training at Pennsylvania Medical College in 1859. Leaving his hometown of Middletown, Delaware, in 1861, McKee volunteered to serve as a surgeon in the Civil War. He worked as a hospital steward and an assistant surgeon for most of the war in Company B of the 1st Delaware Volunteer Cavalry in various areas of Virginia and Maryland. Napoleon B. Knight, with whom McKee seems to have shared a close friendship (see the letters of March 1865), organized the 1st Delaware Volunteer Cavalry on August 13, 1862. Following his release from active duty in the summer of 1865, McKee returned temporarily to Middletown before moving to Delaware City, Delaware.McKee was married to Anna M. McKee, who received a widow’s pension in 1901 for the service her husband rendered his country during the Civil War.

Index to compiled service records of volunteer Union soldiers who served in organizations from the state of Delaware. (Washington: National Archives and Records Service, 1964, microform).

Historical and biographical information obtained from the collection.

Scope and Content Note

The Robert B. McKee papers consist of correspondence, military orders, medical supply inventories, casualty reports, and other material related to his service as a surgeon in the 1st Delaware Calvary regiment during the Civil War.

The first sixty-five items, arranged chronologically, are related to McKee’s experience in the Civil War, spent primarily as an assistant surgeon with the 1st Delaware Volunteer Cavalry. The final document is a widow’s pension certificate which his wife, Anna M. McKee, received July 15, 1901.

With the recommendations of several associates from his hometown of Middletown, Delaware, including the doctor who trained him, McKee enlisted in the U.S. Army with the hope of serving his country by providing his medical skills as a surgeon. Many of the documents reveal the bureaucratic side of waging a war: supply inventories, lists of sick and wounded, requisition orders, medical transfers, and responses to requests for reports. McKee served at Drummondtown, Virginia, as well as at Baltimore, Monrovia, and Relay House, all in Maryland.

About half of the documents reveal the logistical requirements of providing medical attention for army personnel. The other half of the documents relate to McKee’s struggle to receive his final pay after some supplies under his care were either lost or damaged. Internal evidence suggests that the surgeon who served previously to McKee may have caused this problem that plagued McKee for some time after his release from service. The widow benefits McKee’s wife eventually received indicate that the problem was resolved.

Two other documents of particular interest are a newspaper, The Regimental Flag, published by the 2nd Regiment of Delaware Volunteers and an unsigned, undated essay believed to have been authored by McKee.

Clark requested to be sent to Washington, D. C. for medical treatment. J. Hayes Shields certified the request. Additional notes, found on the reverse side, include the signatures of N. B. Knight, William H. Penrose, and S. A. Holman.

Lobdell requested to be sent to Washington, D. C. for medical treatment. J. Hayes Shields certified the request. Additional notes are found on the reverse side and include the signatures of N. B. Knight, William H. Penrose, and S. A. Holman.

Special Requisition made by J. Hayes Shields for ambulance and mules, 1864 August 21 [Box 1 F6]

1 item (2 p.)

This a second copy of the previous item which is approved by Brigadier General E. B. Tyler and Major General Wallace. There is an additional note explaining the deletion of the ambulance from the request.